More than 500,000 refugees need humanitarian aid, says UN agency

Among the refugees, there are nearly 130,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) who fled from conflicts in Rakhine State in 2012 and over 100,000 refugees who have been fleeing clashes in Kachin State and northern Shan State since 2011.

In March and April, independent rescue teams provided aid to 12,000 refugees in parts of Kachin State that government services do not reach. Nearly 50 per cent of Myanmar’s refugees live in these underserved areas.

The UN and other NGOs are currently awaiting government permission to continue providing aid to the refugees. Most NGOs have not been allowed to enter Laiza, Kachin State, since September 2014.

In Rakhine State, the regional government committee is now cooperating with international NGOs to renovate IDP shelters.

About 2,000 IDPs in Rakhine State have accepted government assistance to renovate their homes in preparation for the rainy season. Most of the existing shelters were built two years ago.

Earlier this month, Zaw Taung, the leader of the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) conflict resolution team, said that restoring local security is a major challenge before Kachin war refugees can be resettled.

More than 100,000 residents of Kachin State remain in refugee camps since fighting between the government army and Kachin Independence Army (KIA) resumed in Kachin State in 2011 after the collapse of the 17-year ceasefire. 

Colonel Zaw Taung said last week the resettlement of refugees could not be implemented despite negotiations between the government and KIO.

“In KIO-controlled areas, there are 70,000 to 80,000 IDPs. Security is a major prerequisite to their return, as fighting is still ongoing. The reason they could not return home is that there is no guarantee of security, and troops are still deployed in some villages,” said Col Zaw Taung. 

The conflict resolution teams from the Kachin State government and KIO hold meetings on a monthly basis and in the event of emergency.